Australians increasingly consume food away from the home, and spend nearly a third of their household food budget on eating out. Accordingly, the policies and actions of fast food outlets can have a substantial impact on population diets. Fast food chains can contribute to efforts to improve population diets by:
- limiting the levels of salt, sugars and saturated fats in their products
- reducing the exposure of children to marketing of unhealthy foods and brands
- providing consumers with clear, easily understood nutrition information in-store and online
- refraining from marketing techniques (such as meal deals and upsizing) that encourage over-consumption.
| Indicator | Result | Previous | Assessment* | What was measured? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Food composition |
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Average Health Star Rating of product portfolio**: |
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HSR ≥ 3.5 stars |
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Top Juice |
3.6 |
3.9 |
Menu items available in the largest Australian fast food chains (2019) |
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HSR 2.5 – 3.0 stars |
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Salsa’s |
3.4 |
3.3 |
Menu items available in the largest Australian fast food chains (2019) |
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HSR ≤ 2.0 stars |
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Wendy’s |
2.3 |
2.1 |
Menu items available in the largest Australian fast food chains (2019) |
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Energy content |
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Regular menu |
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Average energy content of large ‘combination meal deals’ as a proportion of average daily recommended energy intake (adults)^ |
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Hungry Jack’s |
72.8% |
Mean contribution of combination meal deals on ‘regular menu’ (largest size, excluding meal deals intended for sharing) to average daily recommended energy intake for adults, when highest-energy side and drink options are selected as part of the combination meal deal (2020) |
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Children’s menu |
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Average energy content of children’s ‘combination meal deals’ as a proportion of average daily recommended energy intake (children)^^ |
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Grill’d |
36.0% |
Mean contribution of children’s combination meal deals to average daily recommended energy intake for children, when highest-energy side and drink options are selected as part of the combination meal deal (2020) |
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Price promotions |
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Number of price promotions (‘specials’) offerred each month (major chains) |
65 |
Number of temporary price promotions offered by ten major fast food chains in Australia, over a 13-week period (2020) |
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Average magnitude of discount: |
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Main meal items |
41.7% |
Mean percentage (%) price reduction of promoted menu item(s) relative to regular price, based on temporary price promotions offered by ten major fast food chains in Australia (2020) |
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Policies and commitments |
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Average score for nutrition-related policies and commitments of major fast food chains in Australia |
36 out of 100 |
Assessment of comprehensiveness, specificity and transparency of nutrition-related policies and commitments of the 10 largest quick service restaurant chains operating in Australia, using BIA-Obesity tool developed by INFORMAS (2024) |
‘Inside Our Food Companies’ initiative
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* Green = ‘Promotes health’; Amber = ‘Needs further improvement to promote health’; Red = ‘Unhealthy’. Refer to Indicator Assessment Criteria at the bottom of the page.
** The Health Star Rating (HSR) is a front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional quality of packaged food and beverages, assigning a rating from ½ a star to 5 stars. The more stars, the healthier the choice between similar products. The HSR system is primarily designed for application to packaged foods.
^ Based on an average daily recommended energy intake of 8,700kJ
^^ Based on an average daily recommended energy intake of 7,100kJ (relevant to an 8-year old child)
Source: Deakin University: Inside our Quick Service Restaurants: assessing company policies and practices for supporting healthier food environments and improving population nutrition, Australia 2024
Also see: www.insideourfoodcompanies.com.au
Key Findings
Fast food company policies and commitments
- Much stronger action and greater reporting of nutrition-related practices is needed across fast food chains in Australia.
- Fast food chains demonstrated some improvements in nutrition-related policies and practices between 2018 and 2024 in areas related to their public commitment to be part of the solution to improve population diets and nutrition labelling.
- There remains considerable room for improvement in the nutrition-related policies and commitments of all fast food chains, including those related to corporate reporting, marketing to children and the affordability and accessibility of health products.
Nutritional quality of fast food
- Most of the products made by major fast food chains in Australia are high in salt, sugar and/or harmful fats.
- The average ‘combination deal’ (usually consisting of a main, side and drink) contains more than half the average daily recommended energy intake for an Australian adult, with some combination deals providing nearly 90% of recommended daily kilojoules.
- The chain with the healthiest overall product portfolio was Top Juice, which has a product range consisting predominantly of fruit- and vegetable-based juices. Sumo Salad, Zambrero, Grill’d and Mad Mex were among the top five ranking fast food chains based on the healthiness of their menu items.
- The lowest scoring chains were Chatime, Baskin Robbins, McCafé, Gloria Jean’s Coffee and Muffin Break which have discretionary items such as cakes, pastries and desserts as a significant component of their portfolio.
Key Recommendations
- Fast food chains need to elevate the importance of nutrition as part of their overall strategy, and commit to implement a broad range of nutrition-related policies and actions.
- Fast food chains can play a role in improving population diets by:
- Setting measurable targets and timelines to reduce sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, artificially produced trans fat and meal portion sizes, in conjunction with government-led initiatives (e.g., Healthy Food Partnership) to improve the overall food supply
- Making healthier and lower kilojoule sides and drinks the default option as part of combination deals, particularly as part of children’s meals
- Implementing policies on marketing to children that effectively restrict the exposure of children and adolescents (up to the age of 18) to the promotion of ‘less healthy’ products and brands
- Committing to not sponsor sporting and community events that are popular with children and families
- Eliminating use of promotion techniques (e.g., toys in children’s meals, cartoon characters, interactive games) with strong appeal to children
- Implementing pricing strategies that position healthier products at a similar or lower price to ‘less healthy’ equivalents, and restrict price promotions and value deal incentives on ‘less healthy’ items
- Implementing kilojoule labelling on menu boards across all states/territories, and supporting the development of standardised interpretive nutrition labelling (e.g., using health stars or colour-coding) for menu boards and online
- Industry associations, such as the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), and government initiatives, such as the Healthy Food Partnership, should support individual companies to implement recommendations and coordinate company action across the sector.
- Governments need to closely monitor the implementation of company policies and practices related to obesity prevention and nutrition, and consider stronger policy intervention where voluntary company actions are insufficient.
For more information
Websites:
Visit the Obesity Evidence Hub for key evidence on obesity trends, impacts, prevention & treatment in Australia. Access evidence related to corporate political activity and industry influence.
Journal Articles
- Looi ESY, Backholer B, Cameron AJ, Grigsby-Duffy L, Orellana L, Sacks G (2021). Price promotions offered by quick service restaurants in Australia: analysis from an obesity prevention perspective. Public Health Nutrition, pp.1-39.
- Sacks, G., Robinson, E., Cameron, A.J., Vanderlee, L., Vandevijvere, S. and Swinburn, B. (2020). Benchmarking the Nutrition-Related Policies and Commitments of Major Food Companies in Australia, 2018. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), p.6118.
Reports
- Deakin University: Inside our Quick Service Restaurants: assessing company policies and practices for supporting healthier food environments and improving population nutrition, Australia 2024
- Deakin University: Inside Our Quick Service Restaurants Australia 2018: Assessment of company policies and commitments related to obesity prevention and nutrition
- The George Institute for Global Health: FoodSwitch State of the Fast Food Supply Australia 2020
Media:
| Indicator Assessment Criteria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | |||
Average Health Star Rating of product portfolio * |
≥ 3.5 stars |
2.5 – 3.0 stars |
≤ 2 stars |
Energy content of combination ‘meal deals’ |
<30% of average daily recommended energy intake |
30-40% of average daily recommended energy intake |
>40% of average daily recommended energy intake |
Median score for nutrition-related policies and commitments |
≥ 80 |
40 – 79 |
< 40 |
* The Health Star Rating (HSR) is a front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional quality of packaged food and beverages, assigning a rating from ½ a star to 5 stars. The more stars, the healthier the choice between similar products. The HSR system is primarily designed for application to packaged foods.